Hey,
Last Night I had the opportunity, (after getting an improved grade on both my Greek and Latin, and Science assessments) to go off the compound with my mom, dad, and sister Tatum. We went first to the hospital to get my eyes checked.(I had mistakenly thought my prescription had gotten worse.) I had to get the Saudi German's "green card" which took a lifetime and a little bit. Saudis have zero respect for lines and my mom and I, being women, were cut about 5 times before getting a turn. After our adventure at the Saudi German we headed to Center Point-the Kohl's of Arabia. We shopped for shoes for about an hour. In this country, I am either the biggest shoe size in the store, or they don't have any shoes big enough for me. However, Saudis do have cute shoes. I mostly just liked the older shoes rather than the new arrivals and of course they no longer had any of the older pairs in my size. My mom, Tatum and I walked away with only 1 pair each after being rushed due to salah. We will need more shoes for Italy...At Center Point, I also purchased myself a new pair of sunglasses, and my mom and dad bought Tadhg a stroller for Italy. After Center Point we went to our favorite Filipino restaurant and had dinner. After dinner, there was ice cream and we strolled down to the grocery store for our weekly load up. We had to get extra food this week because Ramadan starts on Wednesday... This will defiantly be a special experience. Once again, our shopping was cut short by the second and last evening salah. The only other interesting part of our shopping trip was the bag boys dropping our water melon and splitting it in half.
That's all for now, Keenan (By the way...only 32 more days until we leave for Italy and with all of our traveling to Italy, Switzerland and Egypt, it will be Christmas before we know it!!!)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
June 23, 2010
The other day mom and dad bought us a trampoline which we promptly set up the next day... The next morning we found the foam poles that attach the netting to the trampoline looking like swiss cheese! Guess who..... The kittens had decided it was a wonderful toy while we were still asleep! Now we all have pulled stomach muscles from jumping too much and spray bottles for disciplining kittens...
Saturday, June 12, 2010
More Pictures.....
Camels Crossing
Kittens onMarch 5th one day old (they are 100 times cuter now)
Tatum's interpretation on me in an abaya...
Baboons on the side of the road!
More baboons...
Friday, June 11, 2010
June 8th, 2010
This week we took our mid-week day off on Tuesday. I may have mentioned that my dad broke his ankle about two weeks ago playing basketball. He had an appointment, I needed a vaccination, we were all going to get our teeth cleaned (the dentist is located at the hospital), and my mom wanted to get some moles my siblings and I had checked out. We arrived and immediately marched into the dermatologists office. The dermatologist told my mom it was not necessary to remove any of the moles but mom decided to "play it safe." Great!!!! I had to go first. They laid me down on an hospital bed in a stark white operation room. The gave me an extremely painful numbing shot and began the "surgery". First they took a little tiny saw and cut the mole out of my neck. Then they zapped it with purple fire, and then they took a corer and cored it out. They repeated the process about 7 times (for one mole) and finally it was over! They treated the wound and put a big band aid on it. Next was Will who sat through the whole operation completely alone (except for the doctors and nurses). After Will was Cam and then Tatum. During both of their operations you could hear them screaming bloody murder all the way down the hall. Cam held onto the door and refused to come in. My mom had to drag him into the room... Cam and Tatum each had multiple moles. cam had two on his stomach and one on the back of his neck and Tatum had two right next to each other on the side of her neck. We each have a bag of medication for everything from pain to antibiotic. Wow what an experience...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
More Pictures
Some more Pictures of the compound including another picture of our house(still not updated), a Saudi stop sign, and pictures of the baby and big pool...
June 6th, 2010
Last night Tatum and I had the opportunity to go shopping with my mom and dad. Our first stop of the evening was the grocery store. Apparently Tatum is a big hit in Saudi. The man at the deli gave Tatum two trays of turkey to snack on while we shopped the man at the bakery gave Tatum some Saudi chocolate treats, and at the checkout the clerk gave Tatum a pack of gum... I guess I am not as cute as a little blond girl in a pink polka dotted sweatshirt! Our next stop was the Philipeno restaurant inside of the crappiest hotel in Saudi Arabia. After a good Philippine dinner we went across the street to get some ice cream. We stopped at the Home Center were we got some reusable water bottles, memory foam pillows and two black and white canvases of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower for my room. On the way home we once again noticed how uneconomically strategic Saudi salesmen can be. They put all the chandelier stores right next to one another so that there are literally about 50 chandelier stores right in a row. Now it is not like you can patronize any one chandelier store because one only buys a chandelier about every 20 years if that. Wow Saudi is definitely different!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
My Trip to Jeddah
Hello,
2 days and a few hours was certainly not enough! Who knew that life away from Khamis -Mushayt was so liberal, western and different... A breath of fresh air after being locked away on a compound in little, remote, and extremely conservative Khamis for 3 months... We traveled to Jeddah with our good friends and next-door neighbors, Christopher, Christelle, and their, son Gabin. The driving on the way down to Jeddah (especially down the escarpment) was crazy but not any different than we expected. When you live in the Kingdom you learn to close your eyes, expect anything but what you would expect if you were back on planet Western Civilization, and be ready to die at every corner... Some people think they know but you will never understand unless you come to Saudi and see with your own eyes... I cannot begin to describe how bazaar it is simply driving to the Hyper Panda (a huge Super Target or Walmart like grocery chain.)
In Saudi Arabia most gas stations look like Vegas Hotels. They are completely tiled in beautiful designs and often in amazing formations. The actual pumps are nothing spectacular and would be way out of date if plopped into the States. However the gas, as expected, is extremely cheap. In the States, to fill up our Suburban it would cost around 70 dollars, here to fill are car (slightly smaller than a Suburban) it costs 20 SR or about 5 dollars... WOW! Another strange custom in Saudi is that connected to most gas stations there will be a Mosque... Why not? Anyway at one particular gas station on the way to Jeddah there was a little tub/sink, exactly like the one I have in my basement back home in Indiana... hanging from the tub was a little plastic tea cup. It had obviously not been washed in over 10 years and was filthy. While we were filling up several groups of boys arrived. They were on their way to go play a bit of soccer at the field of dust and dirt across the street. One group of boys walked up and two more came- driven by a boy somewhere between the age of 7 and 12. We watched as each of the boys went up to "the cup" (as we had begun calling it) and took a drink. We cringed every time someone took a sip, and uttered “eww's” and “grose's.” Eventually, we moved on and spotted a oh so common (not sarcastic) filthy old mattress on a wire bed sitting in the dirt that we suspected was used for relaxation like a hammock. Anyway, we stopped for dinner at a little beach and then we continued on to Jeddah.
Jeddah is defiantly different from Khamis-Mushayt.... It is a lot hotter for one thing. And there are a ton of Western restaurants. For example, AppleBees, Burger King, TGIFridays, and several others. We went first to the hotel's breakfast buffet that included hot breakfast as well as fruit and pastries. Then we would go to the private beach owned by the hotel. There we were able to take of our abayas and feel like we were at a normal beach. We would order lunch and head back to the hotel at 2:00 to shower up and then go shopping. The first day we went to IKEA... My favorite store in the whole world. There, I purchased a throw blanket for the end of my bed, some lucky bamboo, a comforter cover, a clock, a vase (for the lucky bamboo), and my mom and dad bought me a huge mural on canvas of the Flat Iron Building in New York. When we were done at IKEA we went to a beautiful Italian restaurant we ate late like Europeans and didn't start dinner until about 9:00. Tatum, Tadhg, and Cam all fell asleep during dinner and were carried off by waiters. The waiters put them on couches located in the lobby and brought them pillows. The next day it was the same routine. But instead of IKEA, Mom, Christelle, Christopher, Gabin, and I went to the mall. We came home and dad had already taken the kids to eat at Burger King and then taken them for ice cream. Gabin, the adults, and I went to the hotel’s dinner buffet and then got to bed at midnight. The next morning was our last. We went to the breakfast buffet and then went back to our bungalow to pack. Christelle and Gabin would not be returning with our family and Christopher. They would be staying on the Jeddah compound with another friend who lives on our compound.
Lately, I have been more homesick as ever... I have also been a real slacker when it comes to blogging. I promise that I will try to be consistent once again...
Keenan
2 days and a few hours was certainly not enough! Who knew that life away from Khamis -Mushayt was so liberal, western and different... A breath of fresh air after being locked away on a compound in little, remote, and extremely conservative Khamis for 3 months... We traveled to Jeddah with our good friends and next-door neighbors, Christopher, Christelle, and their, son Gabin. The driving on the way down to Jeddah (especially down the escarpment) was crazy but not any different than we expected. When you live in the Kingdom you learn to close your eyes, expect anything but what you would expect if you were back on planet Western Civilization, and be ready to die at every corner... Some people think they know but you will never understand unless you come to Saudi and see with your own eyes... I cannot begin to describe how bazaar it is simply driving to the Hyper Panda (a huge Super Target or Walmart like grocery chain.)
In Saudi Arabia most gas stations look like Vegas Hotels. They are completely tiled in beautiful designs and often in amazing formations. The actual pumps are nothing spectacular and would be way out of date if plopped into the States. However the gas, as expected, is extremely cheap. In the States, to fill up our Suburban it would cost around 70 dollars, here to fill are car (slightly smaller than a Suburban) it costs 20 SR or about 5 dollars... WOW! Another strange custom in Saudi is that connected to most gas stations there will be a Mosque... Why not? Anyway at one particular gas station on the way to Jeddah there was a little tub/sink, exactly like the one I have in my basement back home in Indiana... hanging from the tub was a little plastic tea cup. It had obviously not been washed in over 10 years and was filthy. While we were filling up several groups of boys arrived. They were on their way to go play a bit of soccer at the field of dust and dirt across the street. One group of boys walked up and two more came- driven by a boy somewhere between the age of 7 and 12. We watched as each of the boys went up to "the cup" (as we had begun calling it) and took a drink. We cringed every time someone took a sip, and uttered “eww's” and “grose's.” Eventually, we moved on and spotted a oh so common (not sarcastic) filthy old mattress on a wire bed sitting in the dirt that we suspected was used for relaxation like a hammock. Anyway, we stopped for dinner at a little beach and then we continued on to Jeddah.
Jeddah is defiantly different from Khamis-Mushayt.... It is a lot hotter for one thing. And there are a ton of Western restaurants. For example, AppleBees, Burger King, TGIFridays, and several others. We went first to the hotel's breakfast buffet that included hot breakfast as well as fruit and pastries. Then we would go to the private beach owned by the hotel. There we were able to take of our abayas and feel like we were at a normal beach. We would order lunch and head back to the hotel at 2:00 to shower up and then go shopping. The first day we went to IKEA... My favorite store in the whole world. There, I purchased a throw blanket for the end of my bed, some lucky bamboo, a comforter cover, a clock, a vase (for the lucky bamboo), and my mom and dad bought me a huge mural on canvas of the Flat Iron Building in New York. When we were done at IKEA we went to a beautiful Italian restaurant we ate late like Europeans and didn't start dinner until about 9:00. Tatum, Tadhg, and Cam all fell asleep during dinner and were carried off by waiters. The waiters put them on couches located in the lobby and brought them pillows. The next day it was the same routine. But instead of IKEA, Mom, Christelle, Christopher, Gabin, and I went to the mall. We came home and dad had already taken the kids to eat at Burger King and then taken them for ice cream. Gabin, the adults, and I went to the hotel’s dinner buffet and then got to bed at midnight. The next morning was our last. We went to the breakfast buffet and then went back to our bungalow to pack. Christelle and Gabin would not be returning with our family and Christopher. They would be staying on the Jeddah compound with another friend who lives on our compound.
Lately, I have been more homesick as ever... I have also been a real slacker when it comes to blogging. I promise that I will try to be consistent once again...
Keenan
Sunday, May 9, 2010
May 7, 2010
Good Evening,
This morning I went to the pool with the rest of the family... I still had a lot of work to do but I needed a break! This afternoon I babysat Gabin...Tomorrow at 3:00 in the morning Christopher will come home from France with our Rosetta Stone!!!! Cant wait for Jeddah we will leave at 3:00 on Tuesday and come home during the day on Friday. It will defiantly be a different experience cant wait to share it with all my loyal followers!I am sorry about getting this posted so late the internet has been extremely unpredictable!!!
This morning I went to the pool with the rest of the family... I still had a lot of work to do but I needed a break! This afternoon I babysat Gabin...Tomorrow at 3:00 in the morning Christopher will come home from France with our Rosetta Stone!!!! Cant wait for Jeddah we will leave at 3:00 on Tuesday and come home during the day on Friday. It will defiantly be a different experience cant wait to share it with all my loyal followers!I am sorry about getting this posted so late the internet has been extremely unpredictable!!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 6, 2010
Bon Jour,
This morning everyone went to the pool but me. I had work to do... They got home at about 1:30 (a little earlier than usual)because my mom had to go to the hair dresser...She had quite the experience! Her hair turned out great! In Saudi Arabia Philippinos and Bangladeshis and other people from poverty stricken countries are sometimes treated unfairly because they don't have money - especially the women. They have drivers who drive them to and from work , when the driver gets them home in the evening he locks them in the house. The Philippinas that work at the hair saloon (they do call them saloons instead of salons) get one day off a month and during that one day they get to shop for two hours. And this is the only time they get for shopping all month! Of course Saudis would never treat Americans or Europeans like this! While my mom was at the "saloon" there was a group of Saudi women preparing for an engagement party... Their hair was done up like Marie Antoinnette! ... Saudi women don't wear light makeup like Americans or Europeans, they wear every color in the rainbow and thick, thick, thick! That's all for today please don't hesitate to ask any questions and be sure to become a follower!
This morning everyone went to the pool but me. I had work to do... They got home at about 1:30 (a little earlier than usual)because my mom had to go to the hair dresser...She had quite the experience! Her hair turned out great! In Saudi Arabia Philippinos and Bangladeshis and other people from poverty stricken countries are sometimes treated unfairly because they don't have money - especially the women. They have drivers who drive them to and from work , when the driver gets them home in the evening he locks them in the house. The Philippinas that work at the hair saloon (they do call them saloons instead of salons) get one day off a month and during that one day they get to shop for two hours. And this is the only time they get for shopping all month! Of course Saudis would never treat Americans or Europeans like this! While my mom was at the "saloon" there was a group of Saudi women preparing for an engagement party... Their hair was done up like Marie Antoinnette! ... Saudi women don't wear light makeup like Americans or Europeans, they wear every color in the rainbow and thick, thick, thick! That's all for today please don't hesitate to ask any questions and be sure to become a follower!
May 5, 2010
Hola Amigos,
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today I tried out a new system for school. It gives me less freedom but it turns out I work better with no freedom... This evening my mom and dad had 5 Air Force guys over. They are here for their remote tour and therefore can't bring their families along. After the Air Force guys left my mom and dad left me in charge while they went to a going away party. Tomorrow should be exciting...My mom is going to the hair dresser for the first time since we have been here...
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today I tried out a new system for school. It gives me less freedom but it turns out I work better with no freedom... This evening my mom and dad had 5 Air Force guys over. They are here for their remote tour and therefore can't bring their families along. After the Air Force guys left my mom and dad left me in charge while they went to a going away party. Tomorrow should be exciting...My mom is going to the hair dresser for the first time since we have been here...
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
May 4, 2010
Hello
I was planning for a extremely productive day! I had tied myself to my chair with a scarf and was getting a ton of work done. All of the sudden Christelle came up the driveway extremely short of breath...She asked us if we would keep Gabin. She had a reaction to some medication and hadn't been feeling great. She was feeling faint and was worried about what Gabin would do if she did pass out. We kept Gabin for about an hour so that Christelle could get some rest. It set me back a little but I was happy to watch Gabin for a bit. When Christelle came to pick up Gabin she was still a little short of breath and pale but she felt much better. Phew... Unfortunately I was unable to post this blog until today (the 6th due to annoying internet!)
I was planning for a extremely productive day! I had tied myself to my chair with a scarf and was getting a ton of work done. All of the sudden Christelle came up the driveway extremely short of breath...She asked us if we would keep Gabin. She had a reaction to some medication and hadn't been feeling great. She was feeling faint and was worried about what Gabin would do if she did pass out. We kept Gabin for about an hour so that Christelle could get some rest. It set me back a little but I was happy to watch Gabin for a bit. When Christelle came to pick up Gabin she was still a little short of breath and pale but she felt much better. Phew... Unfortunately I was unable to post this blog until today (the 6th due to annoying internet!)
Monday, May 3, 2010
May 3, 2010
Bon jour,
Today I have been inspired to make my blog posts more interesting, funny, and over all more superior. I was inspired by mom's new blog at http://ohsofortunate.blogspot.com. This morning for once I didn't awake to "Keenan your cats want to be fed!". I woke up and was surprised to find that whoever noticed it this morning took it upon themselves to feed the cats. I went to the pool with my mom, bothers, and sister but hanging over my head all day was the 3 lessons I still had to complete from yesterday (two of which are still not complete.) When I finally became uninterested in the pool I went home and had a peaceful bath until it was interrupted by Tatum who had arrived home and wanted her bath towel... My dad got home at about three and dad, mom, Will, and I went to the gym for a workout...Yet we didn't get much done before it was time to come home and make dinner. Shortly after my mom began to make dinner the doorbell rang. It was our French next-door neighbors coming to see if we wanted to come over and have Thai food for dinner. My mom was already making spaghetti and meatballs and we had to decline their offer. They stayed to chat for a while and tried some Rice Krispy Treats. Tatum got some disappointing news...Julie, her French friend will be heading beck to France for good earlier than expected...her grandmother is sick and they are leaving ASAP. We broke the news to Tatum at dinner. It will be hard for her to see Julie go especially since there is no one else her her age. But hey, I haven't had anyone for three months and I am getting by...barely! After dinner we preformed surgery on Tatum. Her tooth has been loose for about two weeks now and still has not come out. After struggling to tie a string around her tooth we were finally able to try pulling it out of her mouth by a string... But we failed in the end. That tooth just won't come out! I'll keep you posted...
Today I have been inspired to make my blog posts more interesting, funny, and over all more superior. I was inspired by mom's new blog at http://ohsofortunate.blogspot.com. This morning for once I didn't awake to "Keenan your cats want to be fed!". I woke up and was surprised to find that whoever noticed it this morning took it upon themselves to feed the cats. I went to the pool with my mom, bothers, and sister but hanging over my head all day was the 3 lessons I still had to complete from yesterday (two of which are still not complete.) When I finally became uninterested in the pool I went home and had a peaceful bath until it was interrupted by Tatum who had arrived home and wanted her bath towel... My dad got home at about three and dad, mom, Will, and I went to the gym for a workout...Yet we didn't get much done before it was time to come home and make dinner. Shortly after my mom began to make dinner the doorbell rang. It was our French next-door neighbors coming to see if we wanted to come over and have Thai food for dinner. My mom was already making spaghetti and meatballs and we had to decline their offer. They stayed to chat for a while and tried some Rice Krispy Treats. Tatum got some disappointing news...Julie, her French friend will be heading beck to France for good earlier than expected...her grandmother is sick and they are leaving ASAP. We broke the news to Tatum at dinner. It will be hard for her to see Julie go especially since there is no one else her her age. But hey, I haven't had anyone for three months and I am getting by...barely! After dinner we preformed surgery on Tatum. Her tooth has been loose for about two weeks now and still has not come out. After struggling to tie a string around her tooth we were finally able to try pulling it out of her mouth by a string... But we failed in the end. That tooth just won't come out! I'll keep you posted...
Sunday, May 2, 2010
May 2, 2010
Hey Everyone,
Today was our last day before mid week break! The weekend after this the neighbors and us are going to Jeddah for the weekend for Tatum's birthday! We get to go to IKEA and get all kinds of fun stuff for our room!!! I read an article in the paper today about a 24 year old Indian- Canadian who has been stuck in Riyadh for three years after what was suppose to be a week long trip. Her dad took her passport and won't give it back. There is a law in Saudi that you must get permission from a male guardian to leave the country, and expats have to get permission from their sponsor. However if you are not a Saudi you can travel freely. We are considered expats meaning that we are here for work and we are not immigrants or native Saudis.
Today was our last day before mid week break! The weekend after this the neighbors and us are going to Jeddah for the weekend for Tatum's birthday! We get to go to IKEA and get all kinds of fun stuff for our room!!! I read an article in the paper today about a 24 year old Indian- Canadian who has been stuck in Riyadh for three years after what was suppose to be a week long trip. Her dad took her passport and won't give it back. There is a law in Saudi that you must get permission from a male guardian to leave the country, and expats have to get permission from their sponsor. However if you are not a Saudi you can travel freely. We are considered expats meaning that we are here for work and we are not immigrants or native Saudis.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May 1, 2010
Hey,
School today - I got a lot done but not enough. The neighbors came back last night and this morning they brought us all kinds of presents from Bahrain! It hailed this morning and rained a ton... Rainy season...This afternoon mom, dad, Will, and I went to the gym and "did legs". My parents went on their weekly shopping trip tonight and my mom was told to cover her hair by the Mutawah who are the Saudi Religious police. The other day we actually saw a scarecrow dressed in an thobe with a red and white checkered gutra. That is how intense Saudis are! I guess a bird here wouldn't be scared by a scarecrow dressed in overalls and a straw hat.
School today - I got a lot done but not enough. The neighbors came back last night and this morning they brought us all kinds of presents from Bahrain! It hailed this morning and rained a ton... Rainy season...This afternoon mom, dad, Will, and I went to the gym and "did legs". My parents went on their weekly shopping trip tonight and my mom was told to cover her hair by the Mutawah who are the Saudi Religious police. The other day we actually saw a scarecrow dressed in an thobe with a red and white checkered gutra. That is how intense Saudis are! I guess a bird here wouldn't be scared by a scarecrow dressed in overalls and a straw hat.
April 30, 2010
Ahlan wasahlan,
Longest, most boring day of my life! I woke up and immediately started my 7 lessons still left over from last week. My mom and I did science all day long. From now on I am getting all my work done before the weekend. The internet has been a pain in the butt all week and it makes it really hard to homeschool… When my dad got home from playing golf we had a little lunch and my dad told us some intriguing and exciting news… He had played golf with a man who had lived on the compound in Dhahran which is located on the opposite side of the country from Khamis-Mushayt. Apparently, the compound has only villas (where as this compound has villas and apartments.) The houses in Dhahran are 5,000 square feet! HUGE!! Some of the villas have pools but not all of them. In South Bend, Indiana in the morning you go and turn on the heat in your car about ten minutes before you get in so you don’t freeze to death. It is the opposite in Dhahran. The reason some of the homes have pools is because it gets sooooo hot there. I would love to go to Dhahran! There are a lot more people on the compound there and there is more western influence. That’s what I call heaven in Saudi Arabia… Originally, we were going to be stationed in Dhahran but dad’s company assumed we would want to attend the international schools off the compound which cost 14,000 dollars a year per student and with 4 children going to school the company couldn’t afford for us to live in Dhahran! My dad keeps his eye open for jobs opening up in Dhahran. I hope he gets one!
Our neighbors are supposed to get home from Bahrain tonight at midnight. Pray for their safe flight home…
Longest, most boring day of my life! I woke up and immediately started my 7 lessons still left over from last week. My mom and I did science all day long. From now on I am getting all my work done before the weekend. The internet has been a pain in the butt all week and it makes it really hard to homeschool… When my dad got home from playing golf we had a little lunch and my dad told us some intriguing and exciting news… He had played golf with a man who had lived on the compound in Dhahran which is located on the opposite side of the country from Khamis-Mushayt. Apparently, the compound has only villas (where as this compound has villas and apartments.) The houses in Dhahran are 5,000 square feet! HUGE!! Some of the villas have pools but not all of them. In South Bend, Indiana in the morning you go and turn on the heat in your car about ten minutes before you get in so you don’t freeze to death. It is the opposite in Dhahran. The reason some of the homes have pools is because it gets sooooo hot there. I would love to go to Dhahran! There are a lot more people on the compound there and there is more western influence. That’s what I call heaven in Saudi Arabia… Originally, we were going to be stationed in Dhahran but dad’s company assumed we would want to attend the international schools off the compound which cost 14,000 dollars a year per student and with 4 children going to school the company couldn’t afford for us to live in Dhahran! My dad keeps his eye open for jobs opening up in Dhahran. I hope he gets one!
Our neighbors are supposed to get home from Bahrain tonight at midnight. Pray for their safe flight home…
Friday, April 30, 2010
April 29, 2010
Hola,
Today, we went to the pool and elaborated on the idea of possibly staring a smoothie business there. Yes!!! I had a lot of homework still to do from last week and the internet hasn't been working very well! So, I just read more of Treasure Island. This evening we went to the Camel Club...it was a slow night not much going on so we left and instead we walked down to the commissary for ice creams. Our Bangladeshi yard boy, Moolah told us that the cat who hangs around the commissary had 3 kittens this morning so we investigated...but we didn't find a cat or any kittens.I think the commissary gave them to a family who lives in the apartments. The Bangladeshi yard boys are paid by the compound to do all the general up keeping of the compound. Most of them also have a family they work for part-time doing gardening and/or housework. Moolah tells us about his life back in Bangladesh sometimes. It is really interesting and sad. Moolah's wife is pregnant with their first child and recently they found out it was going to be a boy! Sometimes he tells us stories that lead us to believe that the workers here are not treated as they should be. In their contract with the compound it says that they are suppose to get fed every meal. However, according to Moolah the man who runs the compound feeds them tea and bread for breakfast and a bowl of plain rice for lunch and dinner. We had been getting rice and chicken from a little shop right outside the compound; they would always give us an excess of rice! A lot more than we could eat and so we were giving Moolah our extra rice. Looking back he was probably thinking "WOW, thanks for the rice! What a nice break from...rice!"
Today, we went to the pool and elaborated on the idea of possibly staring a smoothie business there. Yes!!! I had a lot of homework still to do from last week and the internet hasn't been working very well! So, I just read more of Treasure Island. This evening we went to the Camel Club...it was a slow night not much going on so we left and instead we walked down to the commissary for ice creams. Our Bangladeshi yard boy, Moolah told us that the cat who hangs around the commissary had 3 kittens this morning so we investigated...but we didn't find a cat or any kittens.I think the commissary gave them to a family who lives in the apartments. The Bangladeshi yard boys are paid by the compound to do all the general up keeping of the compound. Most of them also have a family they work for part-time doing gardening and/or housework. Moolah tells us about his life back in Bangladesh sometimes. It is really interesting and sad. Moolah's wife is pregnant with their first child and recently they found out it was going to be a boy! Sometimes he tells us stories that lead us to believe that the workers here are not treated as they should be. In their contract with the compound it says that they are suppose to get fed every meal. However, according to Moolah the man who runs the compound feeds them tea and bread for breakfast and a bowl of plain rice for lunch and dinner. We had been getting rice and chicken from a little shop right outside the compound; they would always give us an excess of rice! A lot more than we could eat and so we were giving Moolah our extra rice. Looking back he was probably thinking "WOW, thanks for the rice! What a nice break from...rice!"
Thursday, April 29, 2010
April 28, 2010
Hey,
Lately the internet has been insanely slow! . I really wonder if the Saudis get as bad internet as we do or even if they use the internet as much as we do in the western world. I will have to look into that...This morning I spent 4 hours reproducing wildebeast. I had to do a science project with pieces of paper representing lions and wildebeast that was suppost to teach me about natural selection but it actually just taught me to always do science last and that wildebeast reproduce fast...I started with just 30 wildebeast and by the end of the project had around 250. After my four hours of science I still had lessons left from today and yesterday so I will unfortunately once again not be enjoying a homework free weekend.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
April 27, 2010
Bonjour mes amies,
School today.... The internet was down most of the day which made it kind of hard to homeschool especially considering that our homeschool program is almost entirely online! Therefore, I didn't get much work done and had to sit home reading Treasure Island (my least favorite book in the whole world) while the rest of the family went to play tennis... Today, Gabin, Christelle, and Christopher left for a trip to Bahrain (a country bordering Saudi Arabia)...They will be back on Friday... This afternoon it didn't rain at all but it definitely did tonight! It just finished raining the hardest I have ever heard rain in my life!!! It never rains for very long here but it rains hard and fast... Saudi Arabia doesn't have a very developed drainage system due to the lack of rain! It will rain for 5 minutes and there will be a foot of water on the ground!
School today.... The internet was down most of the day which made it kind of hard to homeschool especially considering that our homeschool program is almost entirely online! Therefore, I didn't get much work done and had to sit home reading Treasure Island (my least favorite book in the whole world) while the rest of the family went to play tennis... Today, Gabin, Christelle, and Christopher left for a trip to Bahrain (a country bordering Saudi Arabia)...They will be back on Friday... This afternoon it didn't rain at all but it definitely did tonight! It just finished raining the hardest I have ever heard rain in my life!!! It never rains for very long here but it rains hard and fast... Saudi Arabia doesn't have a very developed drainage system due to the lack of rain! It will rain for 5 minutes and there will be a foot of water on the ground!
April 26, 2010
Hey Everyone,
Today was my midweek day off from school...This morning we went to the pool with Gabin and Christopher...We came home for lunch and I attempted to make crepes from the box...When Will and Cam's friend Guillaume had been here his mom had taught me to make crepes! (I got really good)...However this time when I tried they were an absolute disaster! It rained all afternoon...it absolutely poured! After it had finished raining we went outside and found a lake in our driveway! We made boats out of cereal boxes, we named them and we raced them... When my dad got home from work this afternoon he had to go to Asir Mall to pick up his Igama (he had left it there yesterday. An Igama is like a Saudi ID you have to use it to complete most business transactions... School tomorrow...
Today was my midweek day off from school...This morning we went to the pool with Gabin and Christopher...We came home for lunch and I attempted to make crepes from the box...When Will and Cam's friend Guillaume had been here his mom had taught me to make crepes! (I got really good)...However this time when I tried they were an absolute disaster! It rained all afternoon...it absolutely poured! After it had finished raining we went outside and found a lake in our driveway! We made boats out of cereal boxes, we named them and we raced them... When my dad got home from work this afternoon he had to go to Asir Mall to pick up his Igama (he had left it there yesterday. An Igama is like a Saudi ID you have to use it to complete most business transactions... School tomorrow...
Sunday, April 25, 2010
April 25, 2010
Hola Amigos,
Today I had school.... After that I babysat Gabin while my mom had tea with the neighbors... It rained all afternoon on and off. This is the rainy season... People warned us but we weren't aware that it really does rain every single afternoon from April 1st to June 30th... Not to mention the people who come to make it rain! Gabin and his mom had dinner with us tonight because Christopher had to work nights this week...Dinner was watermelon, potatoes, chicken, some traditional Saudi food, salad and rice! Yum.That is all for tonight but tomorrow is our midweek day off from school.... Stay tuned for more!
Today I had school.... After that I babysat Gabin while my mom had tea with the neighbors... It rained all afternoon on and off. This is the rainy season... People warned us but we weren't aware that it really does rain every single afternoon from April 1st to June 30th... Not to mention the people who come to make it rain! Gabin and his mom had dinner with us tonight because Christopher had to work nights this week...Dinner was watermelon, potatoes, chicken, some traditional Saudi food, salad and rice! Yum.That is all for tonight but tomorrow is our midweek day off from school.... Stay tuned for more!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
April 24, 2010
Gutentag,
Back to school...Ugh. Didn't do much today...However we did play with our almost two month old kittens, their names are... Boule de Neige (french for snowball), Puck, Bonbon, and Lucy and their mother's name is Madame... Mom and Dad also went on their weekly shopping trip. Hopefully tomorrow is a little more interesting for the sake of followers at home!
Back to school...Ugh. Didn't do much today...However we did play with our almost two month old kittens, their names are... Boule de Neige (french for snowball), Puck, Bonbon, and Lucy and their mother's name is Madame... Mom and Dad also went on their weekly shopping trip. Hopefully tomorrow is a little more interesting for the sake of followers at home!
Friday, April 23, 2010
April 23, 2010
Hola,
Today we climbed a mountain... We woke up at 8:30 and were out of the house by 10... We got to the mountain we planned to climb and started immediately! In Saudi there aren't national parks or anything like them, so therefore there is trash everywhere and not trails...nothing is preserved correctly. Up the mountain was a little difficult, it was just loose rocks spiky bushes (all they have here) and sheer cliffs... Gabin was on Christopher's back, and Tadhg climbed himself the whole way!
At the top we stopped for a little snack, and then headed down (much easier than up).
I had come extremely prepared (after watching Journey to the Center of the Earth) with everything we would need if we got trapped in an avalanche (bandages, flashlights, headlamps, and spare clothes) ... and of course being the prepared one I was the only casualty of the day... At the very bottom of the mountain I stepped on a thorn, at least 2 inches long... it went straight through the bottom of my shoe and into my foot! However it was thin and so even though there was a big hole in my shoe, and a little blood on my sock I put enough pressure on it on my way back to the car that when I took my shoe off you couldn't even see where it had gone straight into my foot...
We had a wonderful/rainy picnic. Christopher and Christelle laid down their Arabian picnic rug and their Arabian picnic cushions... We had: freshly baked french bread (baguettes), carrot salad, green salad, kiwi, sandwiches, pasta salad, zucchini and chicken bread, cheese and crackers, chips,chocolate muffins, carrot sticks, and water...
Christopher also built a fire and boiled some water for Arabic tea and coffee... It wasn't my favorite but it was quite the experience...
We found some carvings in the rocks that looked like cuneiform... and I didn't have to wear my abaya the entire time! However as soon as we got off the mountain it began to rain on and off and eventually we had to leave...
I rode home with Gabin, Christelle, and Christopher. When we got home I took a shower and hung out at home until it was time to babysit Gabin so that the adults could go out to dinner.
Today we climbed a mountain... We woke up at 8:30 and were out of the house by 10... We got to the mountain we planned to climb and started immediately! In Saudi there aren't national parks or anything like them, so therefore there is trash everywhere and not trails...nothing is preserved correctly. Up the mountain was a little difficult, it was just loose rocks spiky bushes (all they have here) and sheer cliffs... Gabin was on Christopher's back, and Tadhg climbed himself the whole way!
At the top we stopped for a little snack, and then headed down (much easier than up).
I had come extremely prepared (after watching Journey to the Center of the Earth) with everything we would need if we got trapped in an avalanche (bandages, flashlights, headlamps, and spare clothes) ... and of course being the prepared one I was the only casualty of the day... At the very bottom of the mountain I stepped on a thorn, at least 2 inches long... it went straight through the bottom of my shoe and into my foot! However it was thin and so even though there was a big hole in my shoe, and a little blood on my sock I put enough pressure on it on my way back to the car that when I took my shoe off you couldn't even see where it had gone straight into my foot...
We had a wonderful/rainy picnic. Christopher and Christelle laid down their Arabian picnic rug and their Arabian picnic cushions... We had: freshly baked french bread (baguettes), carrot salad, green salad, kiwi, sandwiches, pasta salad, zucchini and chicken bread, cheese and crackers, chips,chocolate muffins, carrot sticks, and water...
Christopher also built a fire and boiled some water for Arabic tea and coffee... It wasn't my favorite but it was quite the experience...
We found some carvings in the rocks that looked like cuneiform... and I didn't have to wear my abaya the entire time! However as soon as we got off the mountain it began to rain on and off and eventually we had to leave...
I rode home with Gabin, Christelle, and Christopher. When we got home I took a shower and hung out at home until it was time to babysit Gabin so that the adults could go out to dinner.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
April 22, 2010
Hey,
Today we hung around the pool all day like we do every Thursday... And this evening we went to the Rugby Club, one of the pubs on the compound where they were having their annual "horse races"... On the compound there are 3 pubs: the Camel Club, the Rugby Club, and Twilight Zone... Us kids are allowed in the pub, so every Thursday night Tatum ( my younger sister), Cam, and Tadhg participate in the disco, mom and dad bring us home when they are done, and usually go back to the Camel Club for a while.
Tomorrow we will go climb a mountain with our French next-door neighbors, Christelle, Christopher, and their baby Gabin... Christopher has been here quite a while and has been showing us the sights. Lucky me, I won't have to wear my abaya to climb the mountain... But I will bring it just in case because God forbid someone sees me in real clothes... I'll tell you how it goes...
Today we hung around the pool all day like we do every Thursday... And this evening we went to the Rugby Club, one of the pubs on the compound where they were having their annual "horse races"... On the compound there are 3 pubs: the Camel Club, the Rugby Club, and Twilight Zone... Us kids are allowed in the pub, so every Thursday night Tatum ( my younger sister), Cam, and Tadhg participate in the disco, mom and dad bring us home when they are done, and usually go back to the Camel Club for a while.
Tomorrow we will go climb a mountain with our French next-door neighbors, Christelle, Christopher, and their baby Gabin... Christopher has been here quite a while and has been showing us the sights. Lucky me, I won't have to wear my abaya to climb the mountain... But I will bring it just in case because God forbid someone sees me in real clothes... I'll tell you how it goes...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
April 21, 2010
Bonjoir,
Today was Wednesday, in the states it was the middle of the week...In Saudi it is like our virtual Friday (see chart below)...
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday:
Bold is the Saudi Weekend and italic is the Western weekend....
Well I hoped that for the first time since starting homeschool I wouldn't have homework on the weekend... I was wrong, but lucky me I finished tonight so at least I am free for the rest of the weekend... However I still owe my dad quite a few Saudi Riyals for throwing clay at Will who then commissioned Tadhg to throw the woolly mammoth I had been working on for about and hour at the TV...
Saudi Riyals are the currency in Saudi Arabia, on the front of a Saudi Riyal is a picture of the king at the time the Riyal was made, it has the number of Riyals it is worth in Arabic and some decoration. The back of the Riyal is written entirely in English... It has some landscape in place of the king and it also has a little decoration. With each king the design of the Riyal changes so in my wallet right now I have two different types of bills equal to one Riyal... And the Saudi coins are called Halala...The exchange rate between Saudi Riyals and U.S. dollars is 3.75... (FYI)
Today was Wednesday, in the states it was the middle of the week...In Saudi it is like our virtual Friday (see chart below)...
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday:
Bold is the Saudi Weekend and italic is the Western weekend....
Well I hoped that for the first time since starting homeschool I wouldn't have homework on the weekend... I was wrong, but lucky me I finished tonight so at least I am free for the rest of the weekend... However I still owe my dad quite a few Saudi Riyals for throwing clay at Will who then commissioned Tadhg to throw the woolly mammoth I had been working on for about and hour at the TV...
Saudi Riyals are the currency in Saudi Arabia, on the front of a Saudi Riyal is a picture of the king at the time the Riyal was made, it has the number of Riyals it is worth in Arabic and some decoration. The back of the Riyal is written entirely in English... It has some landscape in place of the king and it also has a little decoration. With each king the design of the Riyal changes so in my wallet right now I have two different types of bills equal to one Riyal... And the Saudi coins are called Halala...The exchange rate between Saudi Riyals and U.S. dollars is 3.75... (FYI)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
April 20, 2010
Hola Amigos,
Woke up at 7:30 and was able to have a little free time before homeschool (Ugh).I hopped on my bike and took off... Will, Cam, and Tadhg (my little brothers) decided to come with me... Oh Joy! Being boys they all flocked toward the new stream flowing from across the street, and they followed it all the way down the hill and to the next street... But, living in the desert water is precious and so Bangladeshi yard boys came running from every direction to...TURN OFF THAT WATER!!! What a bummer the boys were having soooo much fun!
In the desert everyone who handles water is rich... There is a Saudi man who lives right out side the compound we live on and he is in charge of all the water for the compound, well he has 5 mansions on his lot, one for him and one for each of his four wives! He also has his own personal Mosque...
Tadhg also learned to ride his bike without training wheels today....It started out ok but Tadhg didn't have a nap today...
Later this afternoon we said "Bon Voyage" to some of our French friends heading back to Paris for a week... Of course with the volcano in Iceland you don't know if they will get out this year!
Woke up at 7:30 and was able to have a little free time before homeschool (Ugh).I hopped on my bike and took off... Will, Cam, and Tadhg (my little brothers) decided to come with me... Oh Joy! Being boys they all flocked toward the new stream flowing from across the street, and they followed it all the way down the hill and to the next street... But, living in the desert water is precious and so Bangladeshi yard boys came running from every direction to...TURN OFF THAT WATER!!! What a bummer the boys were having soooo much fun!
In the desert everyone who handles water is rich... There is a Saudi man who lives right out side the compound we live on and he is in charge of all the water for the compound, well he has 5 mansions on his lot, one for him and one for each of his four wives! He also has his own personal Mosque...
Tadhg also learned to ride his bike without training wheels today....It started out ok but Tadhg didn't have a nap today...
Later this afternoon we said "Bon Voyage" to some of our French friends heading back to Paris for a week... Of course with the volcano in Iceland you don't know if they will get out this year!
Monday, April 19, 2010
April 19, 2010
Mes Amis,
I recently woke up after a 90 hour trip and realized that it was already 7:00 at night and I was in The Kingdom... This isn't the kind of kingdom with Knights and Ladies riding on pretty horses, it's the kingdom of men in white thobes with red and white checkered gutras on their heads, women dressed in black from head to toe, and 14-year-old boys driving in the wrong lane, in beat-up old pick-up trucks with their baby sisters on their laps. But don't worry its "Inshallah"("God's will")... Since it's expensive to get a ticket I'll take you on a journey to another planet a.k.a Saudi Arabia!
I recently woke up after a 90 hour trip and realized that it was already 7:00 at night and I was in The Kingdom... This isn't the kind of kingdom with Knights and Ladies riding on pretty horses, it's the kingdom of men in white thobes with red and white checkered gutras on their heads, women dressed in black from head to toe, and 14-year-old boys driving in the wrong lane, in beat-up old pick-up trucks with their baby sisters on their laps. But don't worry its "Inshallah"("God's will")... Since it's expensive to get a ticket I'll take you on a journey to another planet a.k.a Saudi Arabia!
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